Home With the Kamiyas The First Destined Family
by Jlgjt
Summary: Sequelfollowup to New Year, New Problems story A Dino and a Special Cat. This story is more oriented on the Digimon than the New Year, New Problems story was. Much of story centers on AgumonGatomon brothersister relationship.


**Home With The Kamiyas – The First Destined Family**

Author's Notes: This is something of a one-shot follow-up to the first New Year, New Problems story "A Dino and a Special Cat". This story approaches the same topic from a different, more Digimon-centered perspective. It also occurs a little later than the other stories. Flashback/remembrance sequences are written in italics (thanks to The Digimon Transcript Archive ( for the transcript the flashback is based on!) Enjoy!

Date: January 7th, 2004

Time: 7:00 am

Place: Kamiya apartment, Tai's bedroom.

**Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!**

Tai Kamiya groaned as he reached to turn off his alarm clock. Normally he would like to have slept in today, but he would have to start going back to school soon, and he needed to start getting up early enough to catch the bus to school when it started up again.

Tai rubbed his eyes and got up out of bed. "What day is it?" Tai asked himself. He looked over at the calendar he had gotten that Christmas and noted that it was Wednesday the 7th, one week after that earth-shaking New Year's Eve battle. "It's only been a week, but with what's been going on it's felt like a lot longer..." Tai noted to himself. He knew that he had only been away from school from a few weeks, but it felt like months. The simmering emotions left from that battle were finally dissipating, but the long-term effects would be just as problematic. Tai wondered how much things would have to change before they stabilized...

"Tai? Tai?" he heard someone asking from behind him.

He turned around to see it was Agumon, who was still peeking out from under the sheets. After being introduced to Tai's parents, Agumon had taken to sleeping in Tai's bed beside his human partner, so when Tai pulled back the sheets Agumon immediately noticed.

Tai chuckled as he saw Agumon reluctantly get out of bed, yawning and stretching. "All right you, let's go roust the other two." Tai said as he put on his bathrobe and made his way towards the bedroom door.

Agumon quickly caught up with Tai as the latter quietly opened the bedroom door. Peeking outside, both of them saw a light on in the kitchenette and smelled something cooking. "Mom's probably making breakfast." Tai guessed. Tai opened the door more fully, and then the two of them sneaked across the hall to the door leading into Kari's bedroom. Tai knocked quietly, then when he heard nothing opened the door.

Tai and Agumon peeked into Kari's room to find both Kari and Gatomon still sound asleep. Apparently Kari hadn't set or turned on her alarm clock, considering she hadn't even stirred when Tai opened the door and Gatomon was still snoring gently as she lay curled up on top of the sheets.

Tai and Agumon looked at each other, then set to the task of waking them up. Tai initially had no success in waking Kari ("Go away Tai!" she sleepily complained when he had gently tried to waken her) and Agumon had little better success when he tried to waken Gatomon by gently poking her (she groaned, turned over on her back and said "Leave me alone, I need my beauty sleep!"). Eventually though, Kari and Gatomon were awakened when Tai reminded Kari of having to get up at this time so that she could be ready for going to school again.

Kari looked up in surprise when she heard about that. "Really? When does school start up again?" she sleepily asked.

"Have you looked at the calendar? It's Wednesday." Tai replied. "School starts again on Monday."

Kari looked at her brother in surprise. "Wednesday? Boy, that means been only a week into the new year..."

"I know, but it's felt a lot longer, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who has felt that way..." Tai stated, looking worriedly at a slowly waking Gatomon.

Kari and Agumon followed Tai's gaze, then looked back at Tai with a sad acknowledgment of that fact. For all of them, it seemed the reverberations of the battle had stretched the week into a month. At least now things were returning to a relative norm. But considering that they were a Digidestined family, some things would never be normal...

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Agumon looked around as Kari and Gatomon slowly got out of bed. He sort of wished that Tai hadn't mentioned about it being a week after the battle. Ever since that New Year's Eve, he had seen Gatomon flipping back and forth between times where she just sat looking out a window looking blue and when she was talkative and smiling, and this flipping didn't make him feel too good. Agumon had hoped that things were getting better, but now today could be a bad day, he noted with a smirk.

He hurried to catch up with Tai as everyone else left the room. They made their way to the kitchenette area, where Tai's mom gave them a greeting from where she stood at the stovetop. "Well, good morning everyone." she said as she scraped something (Agumon couldn't see what it was) in a frying pan. "I've prepared some veggie omelets for everyone, so eat up OK?"

Tai and Kari looked at each other, then shrugged their shoulders. To Agumon, it seem that veggie omelets were one of the more palatable health-food items Tai's mom made. Over the past few days, he had to learn to eat with silverware (which was tricky business considering he only had three fingers) so that he had "manners", but having to deal with "health food" that Tai and Kari didn't really seem to like wasn't helping things any. At least veggie omelets could seem tasty...

Agumon ran over to the dining table and with Tai's help climbed into a chair that was designated for him. Tai and Kari had insisted that he and Gatomon ate at the table and not on the floor like a regular pet, which the parents agreed to do with some reluctance, but in order to see over the table some old booster seats that had been used by Tai and Kari when they were very young had to be pulled out of storage and "recommissioned" for their use. Agumon accepted this without much trouble, but Gatomon was more of a problem as she was stubborn in refusing a booster ("I do NOT do booster seats!" she insisted), which eventually lead to a compromise of replacing one of the chairs with a tall stool with cushions on it. This was not the most satisfying solution, but it worked, and that was the important thing.

Agumon looked over at the stool as Gatomon slowly climbed up into it. She didn't look like she wanted to be here, and he didn't blame her. "Figuring her, she'd probably rather spend the day in bed." he worriedly thought.

"Eat up guys." Tai's mom said as she served up part of the omelet she had cooked up to each Digimon. Tai and Kari took their normal places at the table, and they were served up as well. Mom then took off her cooking apron and served herself up a portion as well.

While Tai and Kari had developed a habit of "just smile and eat it slowly", Agumon and Gatomon were far more obvious in showing their opinions about the "health food". Agumon took a sniff of the omelet and pondered whether it was worth trying before deciding to just eat it to be polite.

He tried to pick up the fork set at his place, with only partial success the first time. With a little tweaking of his "squeeze and grab" technique, he got the fork in his left hand. He reached over and tried to grab for the knife when he noticed Gatomon.

She was just staring down at her food, completely disinterested in eating. She sighed quietly, then shifted her eyes around, before noticing Agumon's confused stare. At this, she gave him a "please don't stare at me" look, then sighed quietly again.

"Something wrong?" Tai asked his Digimon partner. All Agumon did was stare back in Gatomon's direction. Tai followed his gaze, then realized something was wrong. Soon after both Kari and Mom had been drawn that way too, and Agumon, flushing because of what he did, attempted to pick up the knife and pretend nothing was wrong. He could see Tai and Kari exchanging looks, wondering if they had done something to upset her, while their mother looked down in worry.

"Is something wrong there, dear? Aren't you hungry?" Mom finally asked the feline Digimon. Gatomon, looking back and forth between everyone else, finally just shook her head sadly, then pushed the plate away from her and slipped off the stool.

Mom looked up in confusion while Kari and Tai just wondered if what they had said something to upset her. Agumon just looked around, trying to figure out where she went. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something slip down the hallway. Reacting on a hunch, he dropped his fork and slipped off the chair.

"Hey, Agumon, where are you going?" Tai asked when he noticed this. Agumon ignored him; he figured that he himself had to do something, that he couldn't stand by and let this up-and-down cycle continue...

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Agumon peaked his head into the open door to Kari's room. Apparently he had been naive in assuming that time would ease the pain she felt, and now he thought it was time for him to step up to the plate and be the "brother" she needed right now.

Looking around, he spotted her staring out the sliding glass door out to the balcony. Agumon sighed before quietly stepping into the room. He slowly walked up behind her, looking out the glass doors too. His mind instantly filled with various thoughts...

He knew he had problems of his own emerging from the battle, and through that could see hers. Seeing BlackWarGreymon go down by Oikawa using "dark powers", he had realized something was **very** wrong with that picture, but was unable to say anything about it until it was too late. And also the shock of it being Myotismon again... it had affected him too.

That time where the Emperor Ken had captured him and tried to use him to control the Digiworld... it had traumatized him very deeply, and after Ken had reverted back Agumon had personally found it **very** hard to forgive him. But now with it ultimately being Myotismon... it shifted the anger away from Ken and simultaneously diffused it. Agumon also saw that his story wasn't actually too different from Gatomon's, and that he needed to accept it the way that he had accepted hers. It allowed closure for that horrible experience...

He had heard that Gatomon had been one of those giving "tough love" during that whole time, and it had much impressed him, as sometimes he wondered why he was even her "brother" in the first place. "After all, it's not a fluke of fate, there must have been a reason..." he thought.

Sometimes he didn't feel worthy of being her brother, like what happened on the balcony four and a half years ago. It was still crystal clear in his mind, even though it had all happened so fast:

_He had turned to look out the balcony window. "Hm? Someone's out there talking to Kari!" he said with alarm._

_ Tai jumped up from his desk and noticed this too. "Huh? Kari, get away!" he exclaimed as he rushed out onto the balcony. There both of them saw Kari talking with Gatomon and another Digimon, Wizardmon. Agumon's eyes narrowed into mean slits as he recalled being pushed around as Greymon by the feline Digimon, back at the gate to human world..._

_"What's the matter, Tai?" Kari asked, as if she wasn't aware of anything being wrong. Not having seen what had happened just seconds before, both Tai and Agumon presumed the worst._

_"What do you Digimon want?!?" Tai yelled out. Agumon stood by, glowering at Gatomon, ready to attack at a moment's notice..._

_"Wait, listen to what I have to say!" Wizardmon pleaded._

_However the plea fell on deaf ears. "Kari, you get over here! Those two are evil Digimon!" Tai ordered Kari. Agumon himself was already expecting a battle, and he was preparing to make the first strike..._

_"No, they're not!" Kari pleaded. "Gatomon has been searching for me! For me, and the eighth Digidestined child!"_

_At this Agumon had enough. He didn't care what excuses they came up with or what Tai's sister said: they were bad, period! Enraged, and feeling that he had Tai's unspoken approval, he fired out a shot of Pepper Breath, trying to get the first shot in and take both of the "bad guys" by surprise. However, in the moment of rage he hadn't aimed the shot well, and as soon as it was away Agumon saw that it was heading straight for Kari!_

_Then a seemingly unbelievable sequence of events: "Watch out! Ah!" Gatomon said as she pushed Kari out of the way then took the shot herself!_

_"Kari, are you okay?" Tai said after Gatomon had taken the hit._

_Kari herself was more concerned about Gatomon, though, as she lay on the balcony floor:"Oh no, Gatomon! You okay?"_

_Gatomon picked herself up and said "I'm fine. This is nothing compared to what I've been through."_

_All Agumon could do was stare incredulously at what had just happened. He heard Tai say "Did you see that? Gatomon saved Kari!"Tai was just as confused as he was, and all either of them could do was stare in disbelief as the scene unfolded before them:_

_"Now that you remember, do you understand?" Wizardmon said._

_"Yes! I was waiting for the Digidestined human I belonged with! That's you, Kari! You're the eighth Digidestined!" Gatomon pronounced with joy._

_"You were waiting just for me?" Kari said with what seemed to be a mixture of surprise and joy._

_"I've been searching forever and ever for you!" Gatomon said with joyous relief, and smiling – something which was anathemic in Agumon's mind then._

_As Kari and Gatomon hugged, Agumon's mind played the same thought over and over again. "This doesn't make any sense! She blocked the gate to us, she knocked all of us around as Champions! How can she be the eighth Digimon partner?!?"_

_Kari continued with, "Guess what, Tai? Gatomon's my Digimon! Now I've got one, too!"_

_"Don't be silly, Kari. That makes no sense!" Tai bluntly replied, giving voice to both his and Agumon's incredulity._

_"It makes perfect sense, considering she's the eighth Digidestined." Wizardmon stated, as if it was the final word on the matter._

_"That's right, and I'm her Digimon! No matter what happens, I'll always protect her." Gatomon vowed, right in front of a confused and disbelieving Tai and Agumon..._

And protect her Gatomon did. During the rest of that conversation, Agumon was filled with a vague sense of unease and shame, as if he had done something wrong. Eventually, of course, he and Tai had gone to help Gatomon and Wizardmon try to retrieve the Crest of Light after Myotismon found out about how much damage Wizardmon's "revolt" had done, and then with the fog and Kari surrendering it became absolutely crazy. Going to help against Myotismon, then giving his power to help (apparently) take down Myotismon in the "miracle at the TV station" had more than made up for his initial mistake. In fact, this new found relationship soon paid off, when through fulfilling "the prophecy" via an arrow from her he was able to Warp-Digivolve to WarGreymon for the first time.

Nevertheless, that initial mistake still sometimes made him blush with shame, and constantly reminded him that his status as her "brother" was only there by her grace and the grace of others, most importantly of all Wizardmon. This was what motivated him now, because he knew he needed to be gracious, to be caring and flexible. He had been like this with BlackWarGreymon, and even though he couldn't answer the questions, at least it had done some good to both of them, not just BlackWarGreymon. He needed to put aside the concept of fire and warrior spirit that supposedly characterized him and just be "her brother", caring and understanding...

Agumon sighed to himself before he began to walk over to her, summoning up as much sympathy and emotion as he could... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Agumon saw Gatomon on all fours, looking sadly down at the floor. He squatted down so that he was on eye-level with her.

Gatomon turned, but her stare was disinterested, and she quickly turned her gaze back to the floor. Agumon figured he needed to do something else to pull her attention away from her sorrows.

"Something seems to be upsetting you? Do you want to tell me what it is?" Agumon gently tried. Gatomon looked sidelong at him, eyes showing her sadness.

"Did what they say upset you?" Agumon asked. Gatomon sadly nodded, sniffling.

"Oh... well, I'm sure that they didn't mean to hurt your feelings..." Agumon said.

"I know, I know." Gatomon said. "But I thought that they would have stopped talking about it by now! Why did they have to bring it up again? Do they know how much it hurts me whenever they talk about that battle?! Oh, why did it have to be Myotismon?!? Out of all the Digimon it could have been, it was him!..."

Gatomon was coming close to breaking down, so Agumon decided to step in. He said, "Hey, I know it must be hard. There are a lot of things both of us wished never happened, and this battle was one of them. When I heard it was Myotismon, my heart sank pretty far down because I knew how much it would hurt you. I don't want to see you crying as much as Kari or Tai does, and I mean that."

Gatomon looked up, eyes glistening from the tears. "You mean... you mean that?" she replied.

Agumon smiled his toothy grin smile. "Of course. I'm your brother."

After a moment's pause, Gatomon immediately flung herself straight into Agumon's arms, crying. Agumon smiled as he gently picked her up and allowed her to hug around his neck and cry into his shoulder. From her grasp, it was easy to feel what she was inside: she had a lot of strength, but with it a lot of hurt, and a need for a comforting hug sometimes. Agumon, as best he could, tried to show that he could provide the comfort through a surprisingly caressing hug, gently stroking the back of Gatomon's head with his right hand and supporting her with his left. "It's OK now." Agumon gently said into Gatomon's ear. "I can help you with whatever you're going through, you know that."

Still sobbing a bit, Gatomon said "There... were times once I could've used a big brother in my life. But now that you're here I have my big brother, and I'll always be grateful for you." She gave him a quick peck on his cheek (which surprised him quite a bit), then started purring. Agumon just simply chuckled as he felt her tension melt away while they were together in this brother-sister hug... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Only the distinct flash of a camera going off betrayed the fact that the entire scene had been quietly watched by Tai, Kari and their mom. Kari had quietly grabbed her camera off the desk and had taken a picture of the hug, which was where the flash came from.

Agumon looked up and noticed everyone else watching, but did not react because they each quickly put a finger to the lips (shushing him) and then Tai waved him on (apparently proud of his partner and not wanting to ruin the moment). Shortly after that, Gatomon let go of the hug and noticed those watching too. She gave a pained look, but the response was a common "we didn't mean to upset you" look from both Tai and Kari.

As Gatomon walked back over to Kari, Agumon smiled as Tai flashed him a thumbs-up. "You know, being a 'big brother' isn't so bad after all. Even if I could never be the 'big warrior' again, this might kinda make up for it." Agumon thought.

As he followed the rest of the family back to the breakfast table, he saw Gatomon smiling appreciatively at him as Kari carried her. And then looking across at her again, he wondered if today might not be so bad after all.

The veggie omelet, on the other hand, he would have to see for himself...

**The End **


End file.
